Month: June 2013

Canada has the eleventh-largest economy in the world, which means its industries are wealthy and strong—but not without stiff competition from across the globe. While the country has major logging, oil, energy, forest, and mining industries, one undoubtedly sticks out among the rest: agriculture. In the past decade, Canada’s agricultural industry net worth increased by 78 percent, and many outlets credit global demand and innovation as to why the sector is seeing such great success.

Following the second-largest harvest on record in 2012, Canadian exports are driving revenues up for the long term. The global population is growing, which means demands on agriculture are nothing but a positive for Canada—especially as consumers lean toward high-quality, organic, and halal products found primarily in North America.

Canada’s gross output quadrupled in the past five decades because technology, consolidation, and management innovations propelled and expanded the industry. The current exports and imports of the country are valued at between $31 and $41 billion, and as long as the global reliance on the Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector increases, there’s nothing but higher numbers in the future.

Dryer Master is a prime witness to Canada’s growth in the agricultural sector. Our headquarters are in Ontario, but our moisture measurement and control technology benefits companies in China and the Midwestern U.S. Since 1983, we have seen a steady growth in companies who need our technology to dry a range of products from coffee beans and grains to pet food and powders. Despite our customers’ rapidly changing technology and processes, our systems can adapt to whatever job they need completed, and we couldn’t be happier to assist the booming industry.

For more than 10,000 years, farmers have kept humanity fed and clothed. And while the basic concept of farming remains the same, the past two centuries as seen industrialization change the face of agricultural. From the tractor, to the combine harvester, to modern fertilizers and pesticides, agricultural has never been shy about innovation. So it isn’t a shock that the worldwide automation revolution has found its way into the world of farming.

One of the main reasons for the surge in automation is the shift from small family farms to large industrial farms. Thousands of small farms have turned into tens of giant corporate farms. With fewer people cultivating more acres, farmers are demanding modern tools to increase output and efficiency. This has lead to amazing advances that include using GPS to plant and harvest crops, and grain dryers controlled through your smart phone. It is important to make clear that this automation is not about taking jobs away from workers, but more freeing up those who farm from the ancient sun-up to sun-down lifestyle.

Grain drying is a perfect example of this seismic shift. Before automation, farmers would have to physically visit each grain dryer every couple of hours to measure moisture levels. With modern equipment, like our DM510, once-labor intensive tasks become as easy as looking at computer screen or smart phone. In addition, automation also improves accuracy, which decreases costly damaged crops. If you think about it, automation isn’t just changing output levels and product quality; it is changing the fundamental nature of farming.

So, what is next? It is hard to say, but clearly these first steps into the world of automation have kicked of an exciting new era in agriculture and farming.